But that hasn’t made it any more pleasant for those who remember when the switch would be made before Halloween.

You don’t need to have the longest memory to recall it, either. The entire country, Saskatchewan notwithstanding, pushed Daylight Saving Time back a week starting in 2007. Each province opted to align with the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005 — which also determined that springing forward would happen three weeks earlier in March.

It wasn’t etched in stone, though.

In fact, there was room to revert the decision if it was found that energy use across America was not reduced after a month of extra DST, even if the results of the trial suggest this schedule will stick around for a while.

But why did Canada fall in line? Why not pay heed to our ruling Queen whose home country has stuck to the old schedule of hour-switching? Why must a decision rubber-stamped by George W. Bush mean experiencing another week of heading to work when it looks like night outside?

“Politicians really don’t care how a clock is set,” he says. “Conservatives and Liberals don’t have a different opinion about time.”

The subject of fiddling with the hands has been political in the past, however. What passed as temporary measures to keep it lighter out at night, to save energy during the First and Second World Wars, gradually became the norm based on provincial decisions.

Alberta had to work harder to enforce consistency, however, as the City of Edmonton wanted Daylight Savings ahead of the province as a whole — which stood in solidarity with the Standard rebels of Saskatchewan until 1971.

A plebiscite cleared up where Alberta stood. But, as Douglas points out, a provincial law that remained on the books through 2006 allowed law enforcement to fine anyone $25 for setting their clocks the wrong way.

The government will now not tread on anyone’s right to keep time however they like — say, by setting your watch 10 minutes faster to keep from being late — but the most recent experience of being out of synch with the U.S. didn’t go well.

The move by the White House to spring forward amidst an energy crisis in January 1974 confused Canadians — whether they were used to watching American TV or dealing with a Florida flight — which largely explains why we haven’t marched to a different drummer since.

Going back to Standard time comes with other consequences, which will inevitably be further amplified on social media starting next week — annoyance about the sun suddenly going down around 5, talk of light therapy sessions and Vitamin D pill-popping and the onset of seasonal affective disorder.

But could we at least return to the point where the sun comes up a bit earlier, a bit sooner? The public does have every right to coax legislators to see the light.